About
The story behind Community Symbol
About
The story behind Community Symbol
Dear Justice Communicator,
I’ll never forget a moment early in my storytelling career in Oakland.
A community leader I interviewed told me:
“Someone in the community is thinking about how they’re going to be able to see their neighborhood change, and they’re looking for someone to answer their prayers. You and I can be that answer.”
Those words stuck with me.
If you’re doing any kind of social justice-related work, you are someone’s answer.
And when your impact is clearly seen and understood?
You can shift policy. You can influence peers. You can build a movement.
I’ve spent my entire life helping communities show the story behind the struggle, and the progress.
I grew up inspired by my parents’ stories from the ‘70s and the Black Power movement. At UC Berkeley, I organized for social justice causes and built alliances across communities fighting to be seen and respected—despite the harm of Prop. 209.
That passion led me into journalism—from community newspapers to the Washington Post, to leading an award-winning Silicon Valley news site. I learned how to craft narratives that move people and shape public opinion.
Then I took those skills into the nonprofit world, helping organizations win ballot victories, secure funding, and shift narratives around justice and equity across California.
Now, as founder and creative director of Community Symbol, I help justice communicators like you:
- Turn your outcomes into influence
- Share stories that spark investment
- Build digital movements rooted in soul and courage
Because storytelling isn’t a nice-to-have in the fight for justice. It’s our power.
I look forward to amplifying yours,
— Martin, Founder & Creative Director
The work you do changes lives. We make sure more people know it.
Community Symbol is a social impact marketing agency built for justice-motivated organizations. We help nonprofits, coalitions, foundations, government agencies, and mission-driven businesses become consistently visible to the funders and communities they serve.
We do that through Community OS—a fully managed system that captures your stories, produces your content, and puts your impact in front of the right people every month, without overextending your team.
Our mission is simple: to transform how justice-motivated organizations show up in the world. Because we believe in a future where justice-motivated organizations are consistently trusted and visible, funding flows to the work that matters most, and every community receives the support it deserves.
When you partner with Community Symbol, you’re not hiring another vendor. You’re gaining a communications team that understands the stakes—one that knows how to center the right voices, honor community perspectives, and translate complex impact data into narratives that move funders and inspire communities.
Your mission deserves to be felt, not just seen. It deserves a platform and a system that keeps it running.
What We Can Build Together
Done-with-you and done-for-you services depending on your bandwidth
Impact marketing strategy development and roadmapping
Editorial calendaring and fulfillment
Audience research and message mining
Website design
Copywriting and storytelling
Search engine optimization
Social media strategy and implementation
Email marketing strategy and implementation
Web analytics reporting
Impact reporting
It's time your visibility matched your impact
Your organization is already doing the work. We build the system that makes sure the right people—funders, community members, partners—see it, trust it, and show up for it. Let's figure out together where to start.